Man dead amid SW storm chaos
A 48-year-old man has died in the this morning after a tree crashed onto a caravan in Waroona.
A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said volunteer firefighters were called to the scene around 3am this morning.
They worked to cut away the tree from the caravan in an effort to gain access to the man, but he had died as a result of his injuries.
The spokesman said a rescue helicopter was also sent to the scene, but later recalled.
Two other people staying in the same caravan were also trapped but escaped without injury.
The storm continued to caused havoc across the metropolitan area and South West overnight. Emergency service workers are battling to restore power and repair storm damage ahead of another front.
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The State Emergency Service has responded to more than 220 calls for help from the metropolitan area and the South West to midnight and workers are bracing for more calls this morning as the city wakes.
The worst hit areas were Perth CBD, Wanneroo, Stirling, Rockingham, Mandurah and Cockburn.
Four men had to be rescued from rough seas off Rottnest early this morning after attempting to drive their boat back to the mainland.
Water Police supervisor Lou Hynd said the men were rescued by Rottnest Rangers and local police.
"They got about 500m past Phillip Rock when they realised they were in trouble," he said. "It was an absolutely ridiculous decision ... it might have been a lot worse if they'd gotten any further."
The island copped some of the highest winds in the state overnight, with gusts of 117kmh reported.
Mr Hynd said a number of boats had broken their moorings on the Swan and Canning Rivers and at Mangles Bay in Rockingham.
The eastern suburbs remain the hardest hit by blackouts, with about 7000 houses still without power as of 8am.
Orelia, St James, Bassendean and Belmont are the worst hit areas.
Western Power crews are attempting to repair more than 400 faults across the metro area, with live power lines reported down in Nedlands, North Perth and White Gum Valley.
The utility reports this morning that repair crews battled wind gusts of up to 117km/h as they worked to restore faults and hazards.
More bad weather is forecast this morning between Mandurah, Katanning and Israelite Bay.
The Weather Bureau warns residents in a line from Mandurah to Katanning to Israelite Bay to take action and stay safe with more bad weather to come. The bad weather will continue to move south of a line from Cape Leeuwin to Katanning to Israelite Bay by later this morning.
This includes people in, near and between Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Bridgetown, Katanning, Albany and Esperance and surrounding areas.
"This is unusual weather that could cause major damage to homes and make travel very dangerous," the Bureau says.
